Oilers select McDavid with first overall draft pick

(Reuters) - The Edmonton Oilers selected Canadian phenom Connor McDavid with the first overall pick of the 2015 National Hockey League Draft in Sunrise, Florida, on Friday.

The 18-year-old center's selection was not a surprise to anyone as he has been considered the most coveted prospect for years given his hockey sense, skating wizardry, deft passing and vision for the game's finer offensive points.

Considered the NHL's most marketable prospect since Sidney Crosby was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2005, McDavid racked up a staggering 120 points in 47 games while playing junior hockey for the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters last season.

The hype surrounding him was so intense that there was as much focus on the bottom of the NHL standings last season as the top given the increased odds of winning a weighted lottery, and rights to the top pick, the more a team lost.

McDavid joins a struggling Edmonton team that has missed the playoffs in each of the last nine seasons despite owning the first picks in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 NHL Drafts.